After walking for an hour, they finally arrived in the town. The sight of the ancient buildings and the bustling streets filled Xiaoxiao with excitement. She looked as wild as a horse freed from its shackles. Each item for sale looked like a genuine antique, and her eyes gleamed as if she had discovered treasures of gold and jewels. Everything she saw, she wanted to buy, as if money was no object, and soon the three of them had their hands full of purchases.
Sister-in-law could no longer contain herself, "Xiaoxiao, just because you have Silver Coin, doesn't mean you should spend it like this!" Her face was filled with anguish as she thought, this is way too wasteful! Moreover, what was being bought was hardly practical!
"Oh right, the things I wanted to buy, I haven't bought yet. Let's head to the Cloth Shop first," Xiaoxiao said, realizing she had lost herself a bit and behaved like she was shopping in a supermarket. This wasn't right! She needed to cure her shopping spree hangover!
The trio arrived at the Cloth Shop, intending to buy ready-made clothes, but the sisters-in-law couldn't stand it and unanimously decided to make the clothes themselves if they just bought the fabric. So, they ended up buying three bolts of cloth and calling it quits.
Next, they visited a furniture shop. The options were limited, surprisingly lacking cabinets and only offering trunks. Eventually, after a long negotiation with the Shopkeeper, Xiaoxiao custom-ordered a kang cabinet based on a modern design. Additionally, she asked them to craft some coat hangers, a lounge chair, a desk, and a chair. Thinking about adding other items later, she paid and hurried towards the Bookstore, her sisters-in-law by now utterly dumbfounded by Xiaoxiao's extravagant spending, unable to keep up.
"Shopkeeper, let me have a set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and help me select a few books about miscellaneous facts and events of this era!"
Seeing a big spender, the Shopkeeper promptly gathered the items. After picking out five books, he said, "Here you go, twelve taels of Silver Coin in total."
Xiaoxiao hesitated, then turned to her sisters-in-law with a sheepish smile, flashing her white teeth and dimples, "Sisters, I think I got carried away. I don't think I have enough Silver," giggling awkwardly.
The two sisters-in-law just rolled their eyes. This girl's frantic buying was thoroughly reckless, ignoring the consequences. Was this the notorious spoiling from her family? Yet, why was she so adorable?
"If you don't have enough Silver, then just don't buy it! With how poor our family looks, how much Silver Coin do you think we have on us?" the second sister-in-law joked.
The second sister-in-law, clearly a sharp-tongued but soft-hearted person, was just Xiaoxiao's type! She always felt that except for her cheap husband, this family was entirely wonderful.
"Shopkeeper, I'll write a few characters. If you think they're good, how about you take five taels?"
"Sure!" The Shopkeeper, looking at Xiaoxiao, figured a young girl buying books must have some genuine talent. Checking out her writing couldn't hurt.
They prepared the writing set, and Xiaoxiao approached the table to write, "Business Flourish" in bold characters.
The Shopkeeper was dazzled by her calligraphy and gasped, "Well written!"
Xiaoxiao thought about how her practice with a writing brush in modern times wasn't for nothing. She paid five taels of Silver, then turned to her sisters-in-law, "Sisters, let's go home, haha! With all these things, we'll have to find a cart. I can't walk anymore!" Shopping made her as energetic as if she was on a stimulant, but the moment she stopped, she deflated like a punctured ball and was completely drained!
Carrying large and small packages, Xiaoxiao and her company walked away, never realizing that in the bookstore, a scholar with a fair complexion had been watching the whole time. "This girl is interesting!" he murmured to himself before finding a cart and heading towards Yulin Academy in the county.